Although it moved during the summer, the center celebrates its grand opening at its new location with a 6 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 20. The gala celebration begins at 5:30 p.m.

This month's theme is "Before I Die," and artists are encouraged to submit pieces that reflect something on their bucket lists. The top 15 submissions will not only be on display in the gallery, but will be at Acquiesce Winery (22353 N. Tretheway Road, Acampo), when it teams with the art center for a one-day show on Sept. 29.

Hours: Noon-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Information: (209) 333-3855 or lodiartcenter.org.

The Haggin Museum, 1201 N. Pershing Ave., Stockton

"Pro Football and the American Spirit: The NFL and the U.S. Armed Forces," a traveling exhibition from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, continues through Sept. 22. Admission is free to all on the first Saturday of the month.

Hours: 1:30-5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 1:30-9 p.m. the first and third Thursdays.

Information: (209) 940-6300 or hagginmuseum.org.

Art Expressions of San Joaquin, 44 N. San Joaquin St., Stockton

A different type of photography from Henry Paine, who normally shoots landscapes, plants, architecture and industrial settings, is on display from Tuesday through Oct. 11 in "Vintage Lace Designs of the Early 20th Century."

Intricate lace designs in tablecloths and other pieces of fabric that had been washed, starched and placed on stretchers to dry in the sun were photographed with a 4-by-5-inch large-format film camera. Those photos, converted to digital images and printed on an Epson printer, make up the show. A reception is 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 13 in the San Joaquin County Administration Building.

A fundraiser for the three-month downtown event is scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 13. "Art Under the Stars" is billed as a 25-25-25 fundraiser with 25 artists showing work on the roof of French 25 restaurant, with tickets priced at $25. Music by the Art Bregante Orchestra will be featured along with art by artists who participated in the 2013 Art Splash, a silent auction, food and a no-host bar. Proceeds benefit next year's summer Art Splash.

The fourth "Visions In Clay" exhibition and awards competition continues through Sept. 30. The largest exhibition of ceramic works in the San Joaquin Valley, this year's show features 57 artists including Stockton's Bruce Cadman and Ilena Finocchi.

Reynolds Gallery, University of the Pacific, 1071 Mendocino Ave., Stockton

Prints by Enrique Chagoya, which draw from his experiences living on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border in the late 1970s, and in Europe in the late 1990s and juxtapose secular, popular, and religious symbols to address the ongoing cultural clash between the U.S., Latin America, and the world are featured through Sept. 20 in "Escape from Fantasylandia."

Chagoya will lecture at 6 p.m. Sept. 13 in room 101 of the biology building, and a reception in the gallery follows from 7 to 9 p.m.

Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Information: (209) 946-2241.

Elsie May Goodwin Gallery, 1902 Pacific Ave., Stockton

Stockton Art League's third Regional Juried Show runs Tuesday through Sept. 26, with local and regional submissions in oil/acrylics, water media, photography, pastel, 3-D/sculpture, graphics and mixed media. University of the Pacific professor/artist Lucinda Kasser served as judge. The reception and awards ceremony is 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 14.

Also as fall approaches, Pat Sanchez will demonstrate her gourd technique from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 12.

The restaurant's one-day monthly art show is Sept. 11. Artists may set up their displays from 3 to 4:45 p.m. and the show is 5 to 8 p.m. Display space for artists is free, but 20 percent of pieces sold is donated to a nonprofit art organization.

Information: (209) 474-1118.

Mexican Heritage Center, 111 S. Sutter St., Stockton

An exhibition celebrates the 45th anniversary of El Concilio, with photographs and mementos that present a visual history of the nonprofit organization that aids Spanish-speakers with immigration and social welfare issues.

Also this month, preparation begins for the Nov. 2 Day of the Dead, with classes for children beginning Sept. 16.

Papier mache and flower making classes will be from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sept. 16 to 19, and sugar sculpting will be the same hours, Sept. 23 to 26. Clay molding classes will be Sept. 21 and 28. Money for the project was provided by a grant from the Stockton Arts Commission.

The 40 paintings, on display from Tuesday to Oct. 3, are from California artists with the exception of German-based Grass.

A reception is 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Information: (209) 368-5123 or knowltongallery.com.

Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, 715 Central Ave., Tracy

For Jim Lewis, a teacher for more than 30 years in Stockton, and an original fine arts professor at San Joaquin Delta College, letters weren't merely grades assigned to students. They were his passion and a retrospective of the contemporary master of calligraphy and letter form is on display in "Always Write," which opens Saturday and runs through Oct. 26.

Lewis' skill as a calligrapher is incorporated in paintings and drawings.

Lewis will give a gallery talk at a reception for the show from noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 21.

"Painted to the Nines" returns Sept. 14 and features artists' takes on the number, be it in reference to the nine lives myth mentioned in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," a cat having nine lives, nine being a lucky number in China or attached to some religious belief.

The show runs through Nov. 2, with a reception planned from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 14.

Running at the gallery through Saturday is "Broken Things," in which artists pondered all things broken, from hearts to eggs.

Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays.

Information: (209) 754-1774 or calaverasarts.org.

Galerie Copper, 145 Stone St., Copperopolis

Photographs by Copperopolis artist Brent Fraser are featured this month. Fraser, a native of Montana, developed a love of nature on family camping trips as a child, and it is reflected in his work.

Stella Stevens, whose work has been used by the U.S. Department of Interior's endangered species recovery program, the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival and the Central Valley Birding Symposium, shows everything from butterflies to birds in a one-person show this month. A reception is from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

A retrospective of Laura Faye Mah's work is on display this month in "Evolution of the Photographer." Opening on Saturday with a reception for her from 4 to 6 p.m., the images from the last 20 years will be on display through Sept. 30.